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About this project

We are invited to realize our project The Pacifist Library for an exhibition at Flux Factory this September. We need your help! The money we raise will be used to purchase the book collection, to build the structure of the library and to get the library up and moving around NYC.

What is The Pacifist Library?

A nomadic pacifist library constructed from discarded and
recycled materials. It will be a comfortable place, a lounge for reading and
meeting and exchanging radical ideas. The mobile structure will work its way
around New York City and offer a peaceful refuge for the dissemination of
pacifist ideas. The structure will be built with transportability and economy
in mind. The interior will be made
of lightweight reclaimed wood and the furniture will be made of simple modular
designs. The books that will make up the pacifist library will
come either from donations (from you!) or from self-printing of important texts.

Background

For some time now our artistic research has concentrated on
intentional communities, primarily the individual’s desire for community, and
how this is expressed and defines an imaginary for alternative lifestyles. We utilize low-tech interventionist
techniques that include the constructions of shacks and the dissemination of
posters and surveys as a way to practice aesthetics of hope.

Making Bread in Bologna, 2009

The Love Shack, 2009

New Natives, 2009-2011

Within our wider research on intentional
communities, we came across the figure of Toma Sik, a
Hungarian-Israeli Anarcho-pacifist, Utopian, Anti-zionist activist, Vegan,
World-citizen, and Esperantist. We conducted interviews with many of his friends. In
one interview with Uri Davis, Sik’s fellow anti-war activist, he described the
Tel Aviv apartment of Sik as being a central meeting point for activists and
radicals in Israel and also a huge collection of trash “Toma’s flat was packed
both at the level of principle commitment to recycling and at the level of
living as poorly as possible in the Gandhian sense of the term” reflecting
Sik’s lifelong commitment to asceticism and reusing and recycling post consumer
materials.

The image of a meeting point for radical ideas that is also a
big pile of trash is our inspiration, putting into practice Sik’s ideal in the
integration of pacifism with reuse/recycle.

REUSE = PACIFISM

Community involvement

The Pacifist Library is a
social art project, and as such relies on the active involvement and
participation of diverse communities.
Following the nonviolent resistance movements of the Arab spring and the
Occupy movements, discussions of the potential of social change are vibrantly
active across a large spectrum of communities. The library will travel across NYC and stop in various
communities, at each stop the library will be open to an active dialogue,
through inviting passers-by and through organizing events with residents from
the area.

Budget

The $5500 that we are asking for are to buy the starting collection of the library, to print and bind texts that are not available in book form, and to build the library structure (and to cover the kickstarter and amazon fees). We are basing our budget estimate on a starting collection of 200 books at an average price of $15 a book, that's $3000 for the books, though we will make every effort to find the books used and at the cheapest rate possible. You can check out our growing bibliography here. The cost of delivering the books to us at Flux is another $500 (average of $3 a book), printing costs $1000, materials $500 (most of the materials will be recycled/reclaimed, but some essentials we will have to purchase).

Rewards

We will be in New York in August to start work on the Pacifist LIbrary, we will mail the rewards out at that point so that we can save on international shipping. If you are based in Europe, expect your reward earlier.

If you pledged $15 or more, we'd like to add your name as a donor on the inside of a book. If you'd like to pick the book where your name will go, then check out the bibliography and let us know your choice (on a first come first serve) otherwise, we will choose in which book to put your name.

Here are what some of the rewards look like:

The survey

The pamphlet

Silkscreen posters

Blockprinted poster

Embroidered ritual rug

Embroidered wall hanging

FAQ

Have a question?
If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $20 or more
About $20

The first publication of the Pacifist Library, a short pamphlet on the life of Toma Sik as told by his friends in a series of interviews conducted by us.
We'll also send you the survey and library card and write your name in a book.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $25 or more
About $25

The first publication of the Pacifist Library, a short pamphlet on the life of Toma Sik as told by his friends in a series of interviews conducted by us. Accompanied by a CD with the actual interviews (edited).
We'll also send you the survey and library card and write your name in a book.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

A silkscreen printed poster from our "New Natives" project featuring a call for community in Italian (originally produced as a commission for ilCatalogo).
You will also receive the library card, survey, name in a book, pamphlet and CD

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

A portfolio of 4 silkscreen printed posters from our "New Natives" project featuring calls for community in Italian (originally produced as a commission for ilCatalogo).
You will also receive the library card, survey, name in a book, pamphlet and CD

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

A limited edition block printed poster from our "New Natives" project featuring a call for community in Italian (originally produced for the exhibition thisPLACE in Venice, Italy). Signed and numbered (edition of 25)
You will also receive the library card, survey, name in a book, pamphlet and CD

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

A limited edition block printed poster from our "New Natives" project featuring a call for community in Italian (originally produced for the exhibition thisPLACE in Venice, Italy). Signed and numbered (edition of 25).
A portfolio of 4 silkscreen printed posters from our "New Natives" project featuring calls for community in Italian (originally produced as a commission for ilCatalogo).
You will also receive the library card, survey, name in a book, pamphlet and CD

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Toma Sik ritual rug, an embroidered felt wall hanging (60 cm X 80cm) telling the story of Toma Sik. Two original pieces created by us. Includes a certificate of authenticity.
You will also receive the library card, survey, name in a book, pamphlet and CD

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $5,000 or more
About $5,000

Toma Sik nomadic door hanging (80cm X150cm), an embroidered felt text telling the story of Toma Sik through the words of his friend Uri Davis. Original work created by us. Includes a certificate of authenticity.
A limited edition block printed poster from our "New Natives" project featuring a call for community in Italian (originally produced for the exhibition thisPLACE in Venice, Italy). Signed and numbered.
A portfolio of 4 silkscreen printed posters from our "New Natives" project featuring calls for community in Italian (originally produced as a commission for ilCatalogo).
You will also receive the library card, survey, name in a book, pamphlet and CD